Warmer for nursing bottles



July 25, 1950 MCCQLLUM 2,516,637

WARMER FOR NURSING BOTTLES Filed Sept. 24, 1948 INVENTOR.

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Patented July 25, 1950 WARMER FOR NURSING. BOTTLES Estel Bertrum McCollum, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.

Application September 24, 1948, Serial No. 50,986

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in warmers for babies nursing bottles in general and more particularly to warmers of a portable type such as may be fitted over nursing bottles to prevent cooling during extended nursing period.

It is a well-known medical fact that when babies are fed from nursing bottles it is essential that their milk or formula be kept warm or they may become sick with the colic. It is simple enough to heat a babys milk or formula to the proper temperature at the beginning of its feeding period but many babies require extended feeding periods or there may arise circumstances which extend the feeding period so that the milk or formula may cool materially. This device provides a simple mechanism to prevent such cooling.

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of this invention to provide a new and improved device for preventing loss of heat from babies nursing bottles.

Another object is to provide a controllable electrically heated sleeve member for preventing loss of heat from babies nursing bottles and having an improved bottle gripping means for holding this bottle in position.

Another object is to provide an improved warmer for babies nursing bottles which is simple and inexpensive in construction and characterized by its ease of operation.

Other objects will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claim as hereinafter related.

This invention comprises the new and improved construction and the cooperative relationship of parts assembled therein, to be described more fully hereinafter, and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, to be taken as a part of this specification, there is clearly and full illustrated a preferred embodiment of this invention, in which drawings:

Figure l is a view in vertical section showing a warmer for babies nursing bottles and embodying one form of this invention, and

Figure 2 is a right elevation of the bottle warmer shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure 1, and showing a babys nursing bottle inserted in the warmer.

Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference there is shown a cup-shaped sleeve member I for preventing loss of heat from babies nursing bottles. The member i is cup shaped and has a bottom wall 2 and side walls 3 formed together as an integral unit. This member is formed of a flexible, resilient, and elastic material of an electrical insulating type, such as natural or synthetic rubber or other rubber-like material (such as the various organic elastomers). Positioned in and forming an integral part of the walls 3 and bottom 2 of the member I are one or more electrical resistors 4, preferably of a standard resistance wiring such as Nichrome or the like. The cup-shaped member I is preferably molded (by either the compression molding or injection-molding process by which processes large quantities may be economically manufactured) and has the resistance wires 4 in the walls and bottom thereof to provide uniformly spaced heating elements which are completely insulated and thereby eliminating all danger of shock in handling. The inner dimensions of the cup shaped member conform to the outer dimensions of and are slightly larger than a standard 8 ounce babies nursing bottle (such as the Evenflo, the Davol, the Pyrex or the like), and there are provided a plurality of ribs 5 which extend inward from the inner surface of the member I so that the inner dimensions thereof as measured across from rib to rib are slightly smaller than a standard nursing bottle. When a nursing bottle 6 (see Figure 3) is inserted into the member I the ribs 5 are slightly compressed and bent downward so that the bottle is gripped tightly by the pressure of the ribs thereagainst. There is secured on the outside bottom portion of the member I a rheostatic control and plug member l which has a rotatable knob 8 for adjusting the temperature of the heating elements and a plug socket 9 for receiving the plug ll] of an electric cord or wire II.

The operation of this device should be apparent from the foregoing description of its construction but the function and operaion will be restated for clarity. A nursing bottle 6 is fitted into the cup shaped sleeve member I and is held tightly in place by the ribs 5 (which also provide for a more efiicient protection against loss of heat by providing heated dead air spaces). The rheostat knob 8 is then set to maintain the sleeve member I heated to the desired temperature to prevent cooling of the babys bottle 6. Although this device is intended primarily for maintaining the babys bottle at an even temperature it can be used for heating the bottle by setting the rheostat knob to the highest setting. When this device is used for its normal funtcion, to prevent; cooling, it is kept on the bottle during feeding. This sleeve member provides an efficient heater unit which is light in weight, flexible, well insulated, and which will fit bottles which vary slightly in size and gripping them equally well (the flexibility and compressibility of the ribs 5 permit the insertion of bottles which vary in size).

From the foregoing it can be easily seen that in this invention there is provided a simple heating jacket or sleeve for babies nursing bottles which can be fitted over a nursing bottle and comfortably held there during the nursing period. This sleeve can be made simply and inexpensively, can be adjusted by rheostatic control for proper temperature, and because the wires are molded into the jacket or sleeve itself the device is shockproof, thus eliminating danger of electrical shock to the child or its attendant.

While there has been described only one form of this invention it should be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications thereof are to a nursing bottle to replace that lost during the nursing period, said sleeve member being formed with its internal surfaces of the same shape as a babys nursing bottle and of dimensions closely approximating those of a nursing bottle so as to fit tightly therearound to provide a more efiicient transfer of heat thereto but being sufiiciently elastic as to be easily placed on or removed therefrom, a plurality of flexible and compressible ribs formed in and extending inward from the walls of said sleeve member providing an internal opening which is slightly smaller than a standard babys nursing bottle; said ribs being operable to be compressed and bent downward when a bottle is inserted therein thereby providinga more eflicient gripping of the bottle, and a rheostat connected to said electrical resistors and operable to control the extent of energization thereof so that said sleeve may be energized to give off a large amount of heat for initial heating of the bottle and subsequently adjusted adjusted to provide merel enough heat to prevent cooling during the feeding period. ESTEL BERIRUM MCCOLLUM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,455,287 Hadley May 15, 1923 1,992,593 Whitney Feb. 26, 1935 2,006,059 Rudorff June 25, 1935 2,052,644 Murphy Sept. 1, 1936 

